“No repentance, but the Lawyers told us we can’t do it – yet”
“The Church of England has halted its plans to introduce ‘wedding’ services for same-sex couples after the bishops finally accepted long-resisted legal advice that it is not possible to do so without the approval of two-thirds of General Synod.
Plans to allow clergy to enter a same-sex civil marriage have also been scrapped owing to the legal complications, ongoing divisions on the issue and the confusion that bringing in the reform by itself would sow. …
The upshot is that the Church of England will continue, for the time being at least, officially to hold to traditional biblical teaching on marriage – while liberals will continue quietly to flout it and make use of the ‘blessings’ fudge they got in under Welby.”
– This Daily Sceptic article has news and commentary.
(Our headline is a very rough summary. Image: The Church of England’s General Synod in February 2023)
Growth in AMiE
Prayer update from Gafcon:
“Today we give thanks to God for the ongoing growth of the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE), a Gafcon-established diocese committed to guarding and growing the gospel in England.
New church plants have begun in Hackbridge (South London), Denton (Manchester) and Bracknell (near Reading). Pray for the leaders and members stepping out in faith to proclaim Christ.
We praise God that some AMiE churches are now holding two services on Sundays, a sign of gospel growth and gathering. Pray for the Lord to raise up more leaders and resources for this new season.
We also rejoice that Bishop Tim Davies will be installed as diocesan bishop at a service of celebration and consecration on 22 November at Christ Church Central, Sheffield, 2 pm.”
– Source.
GSFA tribute to Archbishop Drexel Gomez
From the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches:
“With deep sorrow, we receive the news of the passing of the Most Rev. Drexel Gomez, Archbishop and Primate of the Church in the Province of the West Indies, and one of the founding fathers of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches. Archbishop Gomez was a faithful shepherd, a wise counsellor, and a steadfast defender of the historic faith of the Church.
Throughout his ministry, he guided the Anglican Communion through defining moments with clarity, courage, and grace. His leadership in the development of the Anglican Covenant and his active participation in the meetings of the Global South were marks of his deep commitment to the unity and orthodoxy of the Anglican family.
We thank God for his life of service and his enduring witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His wisdom, gentleness, and strength will continue to inspire generations of Anglican leaders. May his soul rest in peace and rise in glory.”
– Source.
See also:
Archbishop Drexel Gomez, first Caribbean Anglican bishop in Barbados, dies at 88 – Barbados Today.
Photo courtesy The Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas & The Turks & Caicos Islands.
The Anglican Communion – has the ship sailed?
“It was telling that Madeleine Davies, Senior Writer at the Church Times, gave short shrift to the idea that the unity of the Anglican Communion was high on the priority list for those selecting the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
Her response on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme, was simple – ‘That ship has already sailed.’
It seems almost everyone involved would agree.
The Anglican Consultative Council certainly thought so – their decision to chose representatives of tiny, liberal provinces to be the voice of the ‘Anglican Communion’ on the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) gave no indication that they were looking for unity. …”
– From Anglican Futures.
Image: The Mary Celeste – a ship with no crew or passengers.
“Archbishop” — Church Society podcast
From Church Society:
“In this extra-long episode of the Church Society podcast, Lee and Ros talk about the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the newly announced appointment of Bishop Sarah Mullally as the 106th person to hold that office.”
– Listen here.
“Keep the pattern”
“Friends in Christ, last Friday, the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury was announced, Dame Sarah Mullally, the first female in the role. Previously she had been chief nursing officer in the UK’s National Health Service (the youngest person ever appointed to that role). Her experience and training appears to be much more in management (both secular and ecclesiastical) than in parish ministry work. …”
– In his Minister’s Letter to the Cathedral congregations, published on Thursday, Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant shares some reflections on what is most important in a bishop.
Why are Christians hung up about Sarah Mullally? An explanation for those outside the church
“Sarah Mullally is to be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, which has upset a number of Christians, especially in the Anglican community here and abroad, and particularly in Africa. Though if you aren’t a Christian, you may be confused as to why many are unhappy with the appointment. Most of the negative commentary is either written for a church audience, and hence does not explain precisely why this statement or that stance is such a problem …”
– At The Critic, Peter Leach, Minister of Grace Church, Coventry (part of the International Presbyterian Church) helpfully explains some of the reasons behind the unhappiness over the appointment of the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
Get up to speed on responses to the Canterbury announcement
Here’s a handy list of links we’ve posted to responses to the appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury –
Archbishop Dr Laurent Mbanda – GAFCON.
Archbishop Dr Justin Badi Arama – Global Fellowship of Anglican Churches.
Bishop Peter Hayward, Commissary for the Archbishop of Sydney.
Dr Mark Thompson, Principal of Moore Theological College.
The Church of England Evangelical Council.
The Pastor’s Heart – with Archbishop Laurent Mbanda, Dr Lee Gatiss, and Vaughan Roberts.
Image: Bishop of London Sarah Mullaley speaks at the Church of England’s General Synod, 6th February 2023.
Appointment of New Archbishop Continues Tragic Slide into Irrelevance
“This week, the Church of England’s leadership continued its tragic slide into irrelevance as it announced the appointment of Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
Anglicans around the world had hoped for the appointment of an orthodox and faithful guardian of the faith who would address the serious decline in England’s established church and its dire standing in the global Anglican Communion. Sadly, those making the appointment have chosen to continue on a decades-long course of theological revisionism, cultural capitulation, empty churches, and unprecedented division.
In fact, the Church’s recent trajectory has attracted the condemnation of Anglicans worldwide. …”
– Principal of Moore Theological College, Dr. Mark Thompson, writes at The Gospel Coalition.
Image courtesy Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living.
Laurent Mbanda, Lee Gatiss and Vaughan Roberts: A lanyard wearing Archbishop and fractured communion
From The Pastor’s Heart, a special and important edition:
“The Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, will take on the role of Archbishop of Canterbury — but instead of celebration, the global response has been marked by shock, disappointment, and unprecedented criticism.
Once, the Archbishop of Canterbury was recognised as the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion — the “first among equals” for Anglicans everywhere. But that authority has been dramatically eroded in recent years, especially after the GAFCON and Global South movements declared in 2023 that they no longer recognised Canterbury’s leadership, citing the Church of England’s decision to bless same-sex relationships as a betrayal of biblical truth.
As the GAFCON Kigali Commitment put it:
“Public statements by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other leaders of the Church of England in support of same-sex blessings are a betrayal of their ordination and consecration vows to banish error and to uphold and defend the truth taught in Scripture.”
With GAFCON and the Global South together representing as much as 85% of global Anglicans, Sarah Mullally will now lead a communion that is, in practical terms, far smaller and more fractured than it was at the start of Justin Welby’s tenure.
So what does this appointment mean for the future of Anglicanism?
Joining us today are three leading voices (statements from their organisations are linked):
See also George Owers article in The Critic: The Lanyard Class Archbishop.
– Watch at YouTube – or watch or listen at The Pastor’s Heart website.
Queensland Supreme Court judgment says that Queensland Presbyterians liable for debts for its aged care operations
“The Presbyterian Church of Queensland (PCQ) is liable for tens of millions in debt incurred by Prescare, its former aged care operator. This is the latest result in continuing litigation that has already placed the church denomination in receivership, and future court cases will be needed to determine how the debt can be paid.…”
– At The Other Cheek, John Sandeman reports on further challenges for the Presbyterian Church of Queensland.
A disappointing decision: The Australian Church Record on Canterbury’s new Archbishop
From The Australian Church Record:
“The ACR regrets this appointment and laments the way it will likely accelerate the weakening of the Church of England and the bonds which hold together the Anglican Communion.”
“The Australian Church Record (ACR) notes the announcement that Dame Sarah Mullally has been appointed to the office of Archbishop of Canterbury, and as such, the Primate of All England and metropolitan bishop of the Province of Canterbury. The ACR regrets this appointment and laments the way it will likely accelerate the weakening of the Church of England and the bonds which hold together the Anglican Communion.
At the heart of the English Reformation in the sixteenth-century was the gospel of Jesus Christ. The supreme authority of the Holy Scriptures declared that the great problem of the sinfulness of mankind could only find its remedy in the once for all sacrifice of Christ on the cross. By faith, and faith in Christ alone, could anyone stand before almighty God, and that gift of faith was precisely that which the world needed. At the cost of his life, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer stood for these truths and bequeathed a noble theological heritage to the Church of England in the Book of Common Prayer, the 39 Articles of Religion, and the Ordinal.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is not merely a symbolic primate; historically, he is called to safeguard doctrine, discipline, and unity under the lordship of Christ. From Augustine of Canterbury to Thomas Cranmer to the modern incumbents, that office has borne the responsibility of upholding the priority of the gospel throughout the English church. As a global Anglican communion came into being the office took on a moral responsibility to keep calling churches back to the teaching of the Scriptures and the centrality of the crucified and risen Saviour. Yet in our day …”
– Read the full statement here.
Appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury — Response from Sydney
Appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury
We acknowledge the appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury with a spirit of prayerful reflection and gospel-centred concern.
We commend Dame Sarah’s distinguished record of public service in healthcare and recognise her achievements in administrative leadership.
However, we also recognise that this appointment comes at a time of profound theological tension within the Anglican Communion. The recent trajectory of the English Church–particularly regarding issues of human sexuality, biblical authority, and unity–has caused deep concern among those who hold to the historic and reformed teachings of Scripture.
Her public comments show she has strayed from the clear teaching of scripture and promoted serious error that will neither advance unity nor the mission of the church.
The office of the Archbishop of Canterbury once held a symbolic leadership role in the global Anglican Communion. However, due to a tragic failure to uphold biblical teaching, successive Archbishops have forfeited the trust of orthodox Anglicans, who now look to other leaders.
The Church of England and its new leadership must urgently return to the message of faith, hope, and love entrusted to us by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Bishop Peter Hayward
Commissary for the Archbishop of Sydney (on leave) 4 October 2025
Other responses to the appointment of the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury
From Church Society:
We note the election of Dame Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury. We offer our congratulations and prayers for her as she prepares to take up this ministry, and we hope to be able to meet with her in due course to discuss the urgent need for reformation and renewal of the Church of England in biblical faith.
While the milestone election of a female archbishop creates additional problems of disunity in the Church in England and around the world, we note the positive comments of the Bishop of Ebbsfleet about this here.
But we need a change of direction, not just of sex. More concerning is the appointment (for the third time in a row to this position) of someone who does not seem to actually hold to the doctrine of the Church of England on marriage and sexual ethics but wants it to change. We pray that at a time when there is serious fracture and distrust on this subject, as there is on serious safeguarding issues as well, that God would give bishop Sarah the wisdom she will need to help restore confidence and credibility to the church.
From The Church of England Evangelical Council:
The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) joins Anglicans across the world in praying for Bishop Sarah Mullally on the announcement that she is to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
Bishop Sarah will take up her role as the next Archbishop of Canterbury at a difficult time for the Church of England, set against a backdrop of global conflict and instability.
At home, the Church of England faces challenges because of declining attendance, financial pressures and their impact on sustaining parochial ministry. This is in the context of the significant divisions created by the Living in Love and Faith process. More broadly, across the Anglican Communion, in recent years there has been a significant loss of confidence in the role of the Archbishop and a cry for leadership consonant with our Anglican doctrinal heritage.
These challenges exist within a wider context of political fragility—both in the UK and abroad—with contentious debates domestically, including the proposed assisted dying legislation, immigration, and ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East.
We therefore pray that God will enable Bishop Sarah to hold to the apostolic faith and call the Church of England to recommit to the historic doctrines and formularies entrusted to it. We pray that this might be a moment where the current drift away from a biblical and Anglican understanding of marriage and sexual ethics is either halted or a way is found to secure biblical convictions in the Church of England for the future. Above all, our hope is that she will lead the Church of England in presenting the unchanging good news of the gospel afresh to our needy world.
In 2 Timothy 1:14, Paul implores Timothy to ‘guard the good deposit’. We pray that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, Bishop Sarah will be enabled to do the same.
From Anglican Futures:
The wrong Archbishop for this cultural moment? – Their conclusion:
The crowning achievement for most Archbishops of Canterbury is the highlight of hosting a “Lambeth Conference” of all the Communion’s bishops. One is due in 2032, the year before the archbishop is due to retire – but whether there will be a Communion to gather is doubtful.
Bishop Mullally may, as many say, be “really kind”. She may, as she says, “…intend to be a shepherd who enables everyone’s ministry and vocation to flourish, whatever our tradition…”, but the thing about shepherds is they have to know both where the good pasture is and where the wolves are.
Given that in less than two hours today Bishop Mullally repeated her failings at home and further alienated the Communion abroad, it is hard to imagine a worse start for the new incumbent of the chair of St Augustine, or a worse morning for the Church of England. There might be “Nothing like a Dame”, but she has just over six years from January to put things right.
– Do read the whole article.
And at The Critic:
The lanyard class Archbishop – by George Owers, writing about the “quiet revival” happening in many places –
“If I were to try to imagine a candidate for the new Archbishop of Canterbury who is the furthest away from this, the worst and least suitable replacement for Welby possible, I would probably pick someone along the following lines. They’d be a former state bureaucrat who made an entire career out of the sort of bland HR department-inspired managerialism that is destroying the church, probably a senior civil servant in (say) the NHS. They’d be on record as having every tick-box lazy progressive political and theological opinion imaginable. They would, of course, have lived and worked in London for most of their life and be a thoroughgoing metropolitan. …”
Photo via The Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.
GSFA Statement on the Appointment of the Rt Revd Dame Sarah Mullally as the Archbishop of Canterbury
From the Global Fellowship of Anglican Churches –
“While we shall of course pray for Bishop Mullally as she assumes this historic position, we feel compelled to say that we feel this appointment is a missed opportunity to reunite and reform the Anglican Communion.
In June, we issued an open letter to the Crown Nominations Commission urging that ‘the next Archbishop of Canterbury should be someone who will uphold the orthodox faith shared by the great majority of global Anglicans’. So we are deeply saddened that the person still perceived by many to be the spiritual leader of now some 100 million Anglicans worldwide has played a leading role in the Church of England’s departure from Anglican tradition and the clear teaching of Scripture in matters of marriage and sexuality.
When the Church of England’s General Synod opened the door to the blessing of same sex relationships at its February 2023 General Synod she described this as ‘A moment of hope’. For us, it was a moment of lament because we believe that the teaching of Jesus and the whole of Scripture is fundamental to human flourishing, both now and for eternity, and should not be compromised by the pressures of a particular culture.
Sadly therefore, our position must remain as it was in our Ash Wednesday statement of February 2023 when we stated that we were no longer able to recognise the then Archbishop of Canterbury as the ‘first amongst equals’ leader of the global Communion.
Grievous though this turn of events is, it is not unexpected and is one further symptom of the crisis of faith and authority that has afflicted the Anglican Communion for the past quarter of a century. To remedy this, the GSFA offers to all orthodox Provinces a framework of covenanted relationships, rooted in an explicit commitment to orthodox Anglican doctrine and mutual accountability which we commend to the whole Communion as a matter of urgency. Only in this way, we believe, will it be possible to restore confidence, clarity and unity as we continue to obey our Lord’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations.
The Most Rev Dr Justin Badi Arama
Primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and
Chairman of GSFA”
– Source.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…